A Betting Man

“I’ll put four hundred on red.” spoke the tall man. His head hung, eyes lowered as though he thought if he did not see them they would not see him. Part of that was the lighting, was it always this intense? Was his shadow always that long? Still he was watched by each man around the table: the small fat man with too many buttons undone, the elderly woman who found no thrill in winning or losing, and the young man too drunk to care. Then there was the dealer who spun the wheel. What was it to him if the tall man bet his last dollar? What was it to him if any of them starved? That happened everyday.
The wheel was spun, once, twice, three times around slowing with each revolution. The numbers ticked by, quickly now, and now slower, as though time itself were losing momentum.
“Black seventeen.”
“What?”
“You see it right there. Black seventeen.” repeated the dealer disinterestedly. He scooped the chips placed on the green velvet table and pilled them onto his side.
“That’s it?” asked the tall man.
“That’s it. Want to go again?”
There was no going again. How simple it would have been to tick one more inch. How simple for it to have never happened at all. How easily no one could have seen the wheel stop. If only these people didn’t see the wheel stop, his money would still be his.
“This isn’t right.” he said aloud.
“That’s just how the game works.” came the bored reply from the dealer.
The man took a few steps back from the table.
“This isn’t right.” he said again, to himself now. “Someone make this right. If only they didn’t see, if no one was watching we could do it again.”
“I’ll make it right.” a voice behind. He spun on his heels, almost losing his balance from surprise. There was no one beside him. The fat little man was unbuttoning another button. The elderly woman was clicking chips together as though they were playthings and the youth was losing his footing amongst consciousness.
“Who will make it right?” he asked hesitantly.
“I’ll make it right. No one will have seen a thing.” Again the voice came from behind him. He needn’t wonder this time though for he saw his shadow reach down to its own shadow legs to peel them away from his. It stretched itself luxuriously as a cat after a long nap and walked away from him. He could see it sliding off across the ground as clearly as the roulette table that it was headed toward.
The shadow approached the table, unnoticed or ignored by the other players. The dark arms wrapped themselves invisibly around the fat mans neck, unseen and unfelt. It turned its head back towards the tall man, hesitating questioningly.
“Yes. Yes that is how it should be.” the tall man muttered aloud.
Quick, snap, silent break. The fat man slumped in his chair.
“Are you playing this round Ronald?” the dealer asked the body. No answer.
“Suit yourself. And you miss?”
“Why aren’t there any waiters? I haven’t had a fresh drink in ages.” she hissed. “Terrible, terrible service.”
The dark arms released the fat man who shook slightly, drifting towards the woman. Again the shadowed head turned toward the tall man. Questioning, mocking in its slow unhurried quest. The tall man nodded shallowly, beads of sweat forming on his brow. The light in here, why was it so intense?
Quick, snap. A creaking pop this time. The old woman gave a little shudder and was still.
“I’m sorry miss, I’ll have a waiter over shortly. Miss are you playing? It’s too hot in here, I don’t blame you for waiting on your drink. It’s these new lights, casting shadows all over the place and bearing down on us so. Funny I thought I saw your shadow moving around without you.” the dealer chuckled dryly.
The shadow ambled back over to him, slowly, savoring each step that it could make on its own.
“What about the others?” the tall man asked it. “They saw me lose. Aren’t you going to do them too?”
“Is that what you want?”
“It’s right, it’s only right.”
“Everyone who saw you lose?”
“Everyone. Then it’s like it never happened.”
The shadow did his work, Quick, snap and the youth lost his battle with consciousness for good. Each break was louder though, and this one resonated through the gambling hall. At last the dealer took notice when no-one around his table stirred.
“What’s going on with you all? Had enough for the night? You’re awfully quiet now, the waiter has to be coming with those drinks. Hey are you all right?”
The fat man stirred. His head nodded stiffly. The tall man looked closely and thought he saw lithe shadow fingers around the fat man’s jaw, bobbing it up and down. The dealer thought he saw it too.
“What was that? Do we have bugs in here? Just a trick of the light. I really wish they wouldn’t mess with the light, I don’t like how close it is to us. That’s probably what is making everyone so tired.” said the dealer.
Shadow fingers slide up along his pressed uniform.
“Oh and did anyone else hear that pop a second ago?”
Shadow fingers up along his collar.
“Maybe there is some electrical problem. Doing this to the lights too. That would make sense.”
Shadow fingers around his neck.
“Did you hear it?” the dealer turned directly toward the tall man, their eyes locked for a few seconds.
“No.” the tall man with a straight face. “Didn’t hear a thing.”
Quick, snap, crack. Loudest of all, such a dreadful sound to fill his ears.
The tall man stepped up to the table and hurriedly gathered his chips.
“It’s only right. Just one more chance, that’s all I want.”
“You said everyone who saw you lose.”
“Yeah?”
Quick, snap, crack.